ALAMEDA — If the Raiders beat the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday for their first two-game win streak of the season, it will have as much to do with deposed general manager Reggie McKenzie as coach Jon Gruden.

That’s not an attempt to build up McKenzie and denigrate Gruden as much as it is to recognize the importance of center Rodney Hudson.

Hudson was McKenzie’s first major score in free agency, snatched from the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs in 2015. Derek Carr is the Raiders most important player and tight end Jared Cook, according to Gruden, is the MVP. Yet it all starts with Hudson at the snap of the ball.

“I think Andy Reid would probably agree with me that Rodney Hudson is the kind of player that should have never hit free agency, said Raiders tight end Lee Smith, who is one of Hudson’s closest friends. “It’s hard to get staple players in free agency. But the fact that Reggie and the Raiders were able to go get a guy from a division rival with that much talent and that much leadership is rare.”

Hudson, 29, lives the semi-anonymous life of a lineman, going unnoticed unless he’s called for a penalty. Hudson can be a cut-up behind the scenes — Smith said guard Gabe Jackson is often a foil — but he’s generally media shy.

The impact of Hudson has been undeniable. As he awaits a third consecutive Pro Bowl selection, Hudson has been a weekly star on analytics sites such as Profootballfocus.com that calculate such things.

“His communication and skill level is a big reason we’ve had a chance to operate,” Gruden said.

Hudson will never be more important than Sunday, when he will likely be flanked by two new guards in Denzelle Good and Chaz Green because of injuries to Kelechi Osemele and Jackson. Osemele was downgraded from questionable to out as the Raiders boarded their charter for Cincinnati while Jackson is questionable but hasn’t practiced all week.

It took three years before McKenzie was truly able to dive into free agency, having spent 2012 through 2014 getting the salary cap in order after a series of bloated deals authorized by late owner Al Davis.

The Raiders got a break when Ndamukong Suh, the Detroit defensive tackle and the top prize in free agency, quickly signed a $114 million contract with Miami rather than give Oakland a look.
Raiders Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson, who generally keeps to himself, makes a rare appearance at the podium. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

With Suh elsewhere, the Raiders made Hudson the NFL’s highest paid center (at the time) with a five-year deal worth $44.5 million. Turned out it was a bargain. Hudson made more of an impact than Suh ever would have based on the defensive tackle’s play in Miami.

(As an aside, rest assured the Raiders thought back to Suh — who was released by the Dolphins and is now with the Rams and overshadowed by Aaron Donald — when they determined they weren’t going to blow up their salary cap on a defensive player and instead traded Khalil Mack).

McKenzie simply referred to Hudson as a “football player,” which in his own deliberate vernacular is the highest form of praise. He’s had the kind of impact players such as Jim Otto, Dave Dalby, Don Mosebar and the troubled Barret Robbins had in a rich lineage of Raiders centers.

Hudson’s preparation is constant, and he’s skilled in both gap and zone scheme blocking. Carr relies on him heavily for line calls.

“Derek doesn’t have to do much on the identification side,” Smith said. “Rodney kind of runs the show.”

Coaches love Hudson’s toughness. He missed three games in his first season with the Raiders but none since. He’s been on the injury list most of the season with an ankle problem but there’s never been a question about him taking the field.

“It was like, `Hey, are you going to be OK?,’ ” former coach Jack Del Rio said at the time. “From the beginning it was like, I’m going, I’m going to be there.”

McKenzie’s departure was no surprise other than the fact he didn’t finish out the year. His power base had begun to erode when Davis fired Dennis Allen, whom McKenzie hired as his first head coach. Davis and Allen never connected.

It was Davis who hired Del Rio over interim coach Tony Sparano, and Davis who was instrumental in bringing Marshawn Lynch back to Oakland.

Gruden’s arrival signified a new phase for McKenzie in that he was basically looking for players who fit the specifications of the head coach. The two got along fine, although their contact in recent weeks had been more limited.

One thing everyone can agree on is McKenzie did the Raiders a big favor by bringing aboard Rodney Hudson.

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All the Chiefs had to do to give QB Patrick Mahomes a chance in overtime was not allow a touchdown. They couldn't do it. That's the fault of their defense. The NFL overtime system is fine the way it is.